Gleaning

2014

mobile app

Gleaning is an interactive map of current and historic sources of food. It is a resource for information on public food sources, food production and circulation, historic points of interest related to agriculture and the food industry, community stories about food, and notes about the natural environment.

The project is largely built through images and text by neighourhood residents and users. In its first stage, Gleaning focuses on the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver, a now-residential area that was once farmland, and before that important within First Nations trade.

The map sorts this information into layers that may be turned on and off: • Public Food: food trees and edible plantings in public spaces, berry patches, fishing spots, etc.• Community: shared food-based resources, such as community gardens, soup kitchens, food-related neighbourhood services, and water sources. • History: historical information about agriculture, trade, hunting, and gathering.• Environment: information about the natural environment, geography and geology of the area.

A project conceived by Germaine Koh, Gleaning has been commissioned by Emily Carr University of Art + Design, funded in part by a Mitacs Accelerate Internship Grant in conjunction with the research project chART: Public Art Marpole. This research is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the GRAND research network. Visual design: Maia Rowan. Programming: Daniel Conde.